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Former Chair of Mechanical Engineering dies

Houston-

Douglas F. Muster, Brown & Root Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, died recently. He was 88.

Muster earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Marquette University in Wisconsin and a Ph.D. from Illinois Institute of Technology after serving as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He worked at General Electric Laboratories before joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering in 1961. He was appointed as the department's chairman the following year and served in that role for a decade.

Muster continued teaching as a professor in the department after passing the department's leadership to Professor Larry Witte, one of the many faculty members he hired during his tenure as chair. Witte serves as the college's associate dean for graduate programs.

During his career, Muster also was an adjunct professor in the UH Law Center and served as an expert witness in the area of forensic engineering for attorneys across the country.

He is survived by his wife, Jean; daughter Deborah; and sons Randy, Scott and Gordon.